‘No change’ to corporate tax rate

The Taoiseach has insisted Ireland has “no intention” of changing the 12.5% corporate tax rate in exchange for a cautionary financing backstop from Europe.

The tax rate has always been a source of envy from other eurozone countries, but Enda Kenny said: “It’s transparent, it’s based on law and it has been a cornerstone of our attractiveness as a place for investment and we’re not moving on it.”

Whether Ireland should be forced into watering down the tax rate in exchange for accessing a precautionary credit line from the European Central Bank has been the subject of negotiations on the formation of a new coalition Government in Germany.